How Brave Are You?
by Wolfwind97
Summary: The scar would be there for the rest of my life, I knew, but it would always serve as a souvenir of my loyalty to my mentor, Halt. Oneshot. I'm taking requests for oneshots!


**A/N: This popped into my head while I was taking a quiz on Quizilla. The quiz was 'How Brave Are You' by halfblindhater and the title made me have a story idea! Woo-hoo! So, I decided to make this oneshot. Enjoy!**

***Halt***

I watched as Will fired another arrow into the target, this time far away from the center. I knew he was better than this, but the way Will was shooting was making the other Rangers believe he wasn't. I noticed my apprentice's shaky hand drop with the bow after the last arrow was fired, not one arrow hit the bulls-eye. He bowed his head in shameful defeat and glanced back at me. I let no emotion show, even though I was annoyed. Another apprentice stepped forward as Will retreated away from everybody, walking to the edge of the forest before disappearing into it.

"I know your apprentices better than that, Halt." Crowley said from beside me. "Don't be angry with him, he was just too nervous."

I sighed, "That could get him killed one day."

My friend nodded, "True, but he's still young. He'll make mistakes, just don't be too hard on him over the assessment."

"He hasn't passed any of them." I stated simply. "Will has to learn to control his nerves or it will be the end of him."

"And he will in time." Crowley stated. "Just be patient."

I sighed again, "I know, but my patience is minimal."

Crowley smiled, "You still have to learn how to be patient, I see. Anyway, is he brave?"

I thought for a moment, "He did protect a friend of his from a charging boar with his saxe knife."

"A saxe knife?" Crowley stared at me in dibelief, "What did he plan on doing with that?"

I barely grinned, "Kill it, I guess. I asked him the same question. What does it have to do with anything?"

"The final assessment." Crowley stated. "We're going to take away the apprentices' weapons and have a few of our Rangers pursue them until sundown to test their endurance and reactions."

I nodded, "Should I go find my apprentice?"

Crowley shook his head, "Leave him out there."

"He still has weapons." I stated.

"That's why we're going to send our best Rangers after him. If we bring him back so soon, he'll know something is going on. So, we'll just leave him with his weapons. Hopefully, a more experianced Ranger can defeat an apprentice." Crowley stated.

I nodded, then remained silent for a moment. "Will you let me be with the ones you send after Will? I want to test him in a situation like this."

"He's your apprentice, Halt. Do whatever you want." My friend stated. "Now, it's time to lie to the apprentices about the next part of their assessment."

I was curious, "What are you going to tell them?"

"To patrol the area." He replied, then walked over to tell the apprentices their mission. Once they apprentices entered the forest weaponless, a few minutes later, Crowley picked a few men to pursue them after telling them the plan. I went with five others to follow Will and I wondered how he would do.

***Will***

I walked until I found a stream and sat down on a rock hanging over the water. The sound of it was calming to my nerves and I was relazed a few minutes later. _Am I fit to be a Ranger? _I pulled my two saxe knives from my holster and was tempted to throw them as far as I could when I heard the noise. It was loud and I slowly turned to look around. I heard horses just through the trees and finally saw the men. There were four of them dressed in foreign looking clothes, each with a sword or battle axe attached to their back. Gently, slowly, I lowered myelf off the rock and crouched in the stream, hiding behind the rock, watching intently. Then, I saw something that would give away my position. A dog walked behind the horses, sniffing at the air constantly. Instinctively, I held my breath, hoping the dog wouldn't scent me. Unfortunately, my luck didn't hold. The dog's ears perked up, it's head pointed in my direction, and it gave a small warning bark. The men looked at the dog, then were it was looking. By then, I already hid myself completely behind the rock.

"You think there's something here, Boss?" I heard a man ask as they came closer to the rock after getting off thier horses.

"If One-ear has smelt something, it's over here." Another man replied.

I held my breath and gripped my saxe knives in my hands, my knuckles white from the force. The footsteps drew nearer and I heard the dog growl. I swallowed, trying to calm down.

"We know you're there. Come out or we'll kill you painfully." The man, probably the Boss, demanded.

I remained still and silent, considering my options. _One, I could run for it. No, the dog will just get me. Can I shoot them? No, I'm too close and outnumbered. What do I do?_

"Don't make me wait all day!" The man bellowed, making me jump fearfully. I swallowed the fear that rose into my throat and stepped out from behind the rock. The dog growled and the men laughed, "You're just a kid! Oh well, we haven't killed anything in a few days."

"Who are you?" I asked, making my voice steady.

All of them pulled their weapons from their backs. "None of your business, Ranger. We despise all Rangers, even apprentices like you must be." The Boss began to step forward and I raised my weapons, even though they felt like vulnerable sticks. _How can I hope to match those weapons with my saxe knives?! _Then, in an instant, one man attacked.

***Halt***

The six of us included Crowley, Gilan, three other Rangers and I as we moved through the trees following Will's footprints. "I hear fighting up ahead." Gilan stated and I listened carefully.

I nodded, "You're right." Quickly, but quietly, the group of six, including me, moved toward the sounds of battle. A dog barked and laughs echoed off the trees. We all moved forward and I managed to see what was happening. I cursed under my breath, but Crowley quietly ordered us to hold back.

"If we hold back, my apprentice will be slaughtered!" I angrily whispered.

"If we think they're going to make a move to kill him, we'll intervene. Right now, just watch." Crowley stated.

I was angry and I had my bow in my hands, but I remained where I was; I watched as Will fought an unknown swordsman.

***Will***

I blocked the man's first attack by crossing my blades and catching the sword between the two saxe knives. The man rose his sword again and I dodged to the side, hearing the wind from the blade whisper in my ear. He swung from the side while I was still moving and I fell to the ground to avoid getting sliced in half. The man swung the sword again and I blocked like I did the first time, but I was on my back and couldn't move. If I moved, I would loose my concentration and would be killed. I used the larger saxe to shove the sword over and move to the side at the same time. The man's own strenth plowed his sword into the ground and I moved quickly, cutting him in the stomach, making him fall to the ground clutching the wound. The other men faced me in disbelief and two of them charged at me this time. I ran to the overhanging rock and jumped into the stream, pulling my bow from my back and slipped an arrow onto the string at the same time. I aimed at the second man, but he dove out of the way just before I fired. The arrow missed completely and I was charged at again. Thinking fast, I swung my bow to hit the man in the head, then stabbed at him with the saxe knife I managed to pull from the holster. However, the man recovered and grabbed my forearm, then threw me to the ground. I felt the oxygen leave my lungs from the impact and I stood up, still trying to catch my breath and realized I only had the throwing knife left, the other two were on the ground a few feet away. The man swung his sword and cut a gash in my shoulder. I instinctively grabbed the wound and applied pressure to it.

The Boss began to laugh, "You can't beat all of us, kid." Then, he pulled the battle axe from his back and walked toward me. The man I thought I defeated earlier grabbed me from behind and pressed his arm against my neck, choking me. I clutched to his arm and kicked backwards, but he only laughed and tightened to hold. I could feel the blood running to my face and roaring in my ears, but I still watched defiantly as the Boss walked toward me. He raised the battle axe in the air... and was met with six arrows sticking out of his chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. The other three looked behind them and the Rangers came out from the undergrowth. I was relieved when I saw Halt, Gilan, and Crowley among them.

"Let him go." Crowley demanded, nocking another arrow along with the others.

The man grabbed a dagger from his side and held it against my throat, "If you move, he's dead."

Halt and Crowley made their move. They shot my captor in the shoulders, the pain making him release me. I stepped forward and saw Halt had an arrow aimed right at my head. I fell to the ground on my stomach and the arrow flew over my head, embedding itself into the man's chest, making him fall to the ground unmoving. The other man was shot by the three other Rangers and the dog ran away with it's tail tucked between it's legs. I rose to my knees and sighed in relief. Halt crouched down next to me and put a hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. The other Rangers went to inspect the dead bodies. However, they forgot one. The undead man rose from the ground, sword in his hand. The Rangers had putt their weapons away and Halt had his back turned. I shouted out a warning as the enemy swung the sword toward Halt's undefended back. I stepped behind Halt just as the sword was about to meet his back and I felt the blade slice through my side and get stuck from the weak swing the enemy made. I raised the throwing knife in my hand and threw it as hard as I could. A loud _thump _echoed in the air. It was then I realized the throwing knife was embedded in the man's skull. He fell to the ground, dead this time, and I fell to my knees holding the sword. The Rangers hadn't had time to react, but they did now, especially Halt. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of my side, making me grit my teeth painfully. He ripped a strip off of his cloak and pressed it against my side to stop the bleeding. The wound was bleeding profusely and my head began to spin and I began to see black spots dance in my eyes. The last thing I remember is being picked up before passing out.

***Halt***

I carried the wounded apprentice back to the camp and Crowley ordered a Ranger to go find a healer in the nearest fief. Our camp was secret, but Crowley knew a few healers who would never betray the Ranger Corps. I laid Will on the ground in the tent and lifted his shirt to see the wound. It was still bleeding and slowly poured water in the wound to help clean it. Will grimaced from the pain and Crowley handed me a few bandages to wrap the wound with. I knew he needed stitches, but the wound was to deep for anybody here to do it, I knew it from the start.

Crowley sighed, "We're just going to have to wait for the healer to get here."

The moon set high in the sky and Will's condition was worsening. His breathing was shallow and irregular, the wound seemed to have already set up infection, even though that was nearly impossible. The healer finally arrived and immediately set to work. First, she tried to stitch the wound, but the meat inside the gash was too soft and continued ripping. She shook her head and tried one last time, coming up with the same result.

"There is poison in the wound. It probably came from the blade itself. Luckily, I've seen this poison before and I have the remedy with me." She pulled a few leaves from a bag and boiled them in the water over the fire. After a few minutes, she carefully pulled the leaves from the water without touching them, then let them cool. Once they were cool enough, she let the later from the leaves drip into the wound. "There's no way I can stitch this..."

"Go ahead and cauterize it if you must." I stated.

She nodded, "Grab his arms, we don't want him moving too much. You," She pointed at Crowley, "Hold his legs." We both done as we were told and the healer pulled a tool out of the bag and wrapped a cloth around the end. She set the cloth on fire and pressed it inside the wound. Will screamed in agony and tried to pull away to no avail. Just when I thought I couldn't stand to hear him, the healer pulled the burning cloth from the wound and used another wet cloth to dab the wound to ease the burning. Now, she was able to use the stitches to close the rest of the wound and I realized the wound didn't even look infected. "The poison will be in his system for a day or two, but it will only make him weak. He should be fine now." We thanked her and she left with Crowley escorting her out, but I remained by my apprentice's side.

***Three Days Later***

***Will***

"Are you ever going to tell me how I passed the assessment?" I pestered my mentor on the way back from the Gathering.

Halt sighed in frustration, "Out of stupidity. You know why."

"But, I was awful at shooting and, well, everything else." I stated.

"Crowley said you were just nervous and I agree. While you were fighting, Crowley decided to let you pass." Halt replied. "Now, don't pester me about that anymore. I just want to go home and drink some coffee."

I smiled, thinking I wasn't going to have to do anything today.

"However, you're going to sweep the floors, chop the firewood, fill the water barrell, and sweep the floors." Halt listed.

I listened, "But you already said sweep the floors."

"Did I? Well, you can do it twice, then." Halt stated and urged Abelard to quicken his pace.

I cursed my luck and followed my mentor, the gash still wrapped up in a bandage to prevent infection. The scar would be there for the rest of my life, I knew, but it would always serve as a souvenir of my loyalty to my mentor, Halt.


End file.
